Customer Reviews

Warmly Inscribed: The New England Forger and Other Book Tales

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the third book in the series written by Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone.

I just discovered this series and basically read all three within a 2 week period. I also ended up reading them out of order, starting with Slightly Chipped.

I loved the premise of these books. I loved reading about two people discovering their love of books and more specifically their love of collecting. Their writing style is funny, witty and entertaining.

Although I loved all three books, I thought that Warmly Inscribed was the weakest of the three books. The charm, for me, of the first two books was to read about the Goldstone's anecdotes about their constant search for yet another bookstore and, of course, another book that they could not possibly buy (but ended up buying anyway). The last book did not have the "friendly, fun, never know what you are going to discover next feeling" that the first two books had. The story was somewhat dry (the forger story was too long) and it felt as though they kept jumping from one story to another without really telling us anything.

By the way, I enjoy hearing about the meals they have during their book collecting trips. THAT's the kind of stuff that made the first two books fun!

"Warmly Inscribed" (Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone) is the third book by the Goldstones chronicling their experiences in the world of used and rare books. Just as "Slightly Chipped" was not quite as good as "Used and Rare", so "Warmly Inscribed" is just slightly more off the mark than either of the other two.

Which is not to say that it is not good.

What I loved most about "Used and Rare" was discovering the book trade along with the Goldstones - from the purchase of the first book (how to get a nice cheap hardcover edition of War and Peace) via falling for the temptation to spend way more that is sensible on a nice Dickens to starting to feel that they are finding their feet in this sometimes confusing trade.

In "Slightly Chipped" the focus shifted slightly from the Goldstones own experience to anecdotes of other people's adventures, and what they told us of themselves was more to do with book-signings and related events than with book-hunting along dusty shelves. Though still enjoyable, I could not but feel that part of the fun had gone out of the telling.

In "Warmly Inscribed" this shift away from actual book-hunting continues. A major part of the book is taken up with the history of the "New England Forger" - an interesting story, and certainly an instructive one for those of us interested in signed books, but from a secondary source. And a lot of the primary source stories have more to do with viewing books in libraries than with hunting for a copy for oneself.

As I said, this doesn't make it a bad book. The Goldstones are writing what is probably the most enjoyable series of books for bibliophiles at the moment. Their style is informal and very personal, and even events that are retold through several people gain a sort of immediacy. Their description of the Library of Congress certainly makes me want to visit the place more than
anything else I've read about it.

I do miss the bookstore stories, though. There are so relatively few books written about the actual buying and collecting of used and rare books from a personal point of view - there are manuals like "The ABC for Book Collectors", but so few "look what I found!" stories. I wish the next book would return to this viewpoint.

(Actually, what I really want to see is a "The Goldstones discover Hay-on-Wye, Wales" - now _that_ would be good!)

but I have to agree with the reviewer who felt that the first two books in this series were more entertaining.

One of the best aspects of this series is the glimpse that it gives the reader into the world of serious book collecting and the Goldstones' adventures therein. That being said, nearly a quarter of this 215 page book is taken up by the story of the New England forger - which has very little bearing on the Goldstones and their collection. A semi-interesting aside, it hardly deserved to dominate the book.

On the other hand, I really did enjoy reading about the visits to the Library of Congress and the Folger Library, which offered a glimpse into collections that few of us will ever have the chance to visit. Their take on the influence of the internet on the book trade was also interesting, but should there be a fourth book in the series, I hope that they will return to what they do best - relating personal stories of chasing down treasures.

The third of the Goldstones' collecting books (after Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World and Slightly Chipped*: *Footnotes in Booklore) is just as charming and whimsical--and educational--as the first two. The Goldstones are a delightful couple with a warm writing style that is easy to read and keeps you coming back.

Apart from the title of the book, which seems to have no relation to its contents, I have only one complaint: the central story of the New England forger goes on for too long. I was kept interested throughout, but I felt that it could have ended sooner.

Other than that, this is a terrific, quick read, and if you are fans of books and collecting you will not be disappointed.

This pair write tales for bibliophiles, and this is their third book-about-books, featuring every aspect of the bibliouniverse, including: collecting, libraries, book fairs, catalogue and Internet trading, rare book dealers, independent booksellers, readers, and writers. In this volume, we meet Ken Anderson, the `New England Forger' who specialized in Pound, Yeats, and Eliot signed volumes before he was caught; we visit the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Reading Room of the British Museum, and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale.

The two highly likable writers/readers/collectors, sometimes with daughter Emily in tow, warmly open their lives to their readers who, like them, get excited by books and appreciate the connections with people across time and place, with all their idiosyncrasies and passions. The Goldstone's books are not-to-be-missed gems.

If your not familiar with Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, it should be noted that they're writers and book collectors who often write about their love and/or obsession with book collecting. "Warmly Inscribed.." is their third such book. It's not uncommon for this pair to enter a bookstore just to see what's there and walk out $500 lighter with a first edition under their arm. This is their world of hardcore book collecting. So why on earth would someone pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the same story that can be bought as a beat up paperback at a garage sale for under a buck? The Goldstone's first book does a better job of answering this question. In essence for investment, for art (first edition books are often in much better shape-book binding wise), and to be closer to "god'. What's it like to hold a book that Mark Twain himself probably held or Charles Dickens? And this is where "Warmly Inscribed leads us.

The book is broken down into 6 main chapters with an additional afterword. About half of these chapters deal with the darker side of book collecting and selling. How can one be sure if Mark Twain held a certain book of his, even if he supposedly signed it? One chapter specifically dealers with forgers and a book buying system that both hunts down , but due to greed and economics, encourages forgeries. Another chapter speaks of the Internet, which has both help and hinders the local corner bookstore, another about the struggles of starting a new bookstore. A old joke goes "How do you make a million dollars? Take two million and open a book store."
Other chapters are lighter in tone. One is about the Library of the Congress, which could merit a book unto itself; another focuses on a classic author lost to time and another chapter takes us to a Florida book convention.

The stories, based on light reporting, are often very fun and informative. They do a pretty good job of making the book world, which is complicated-even for collectors, relatively easy to understand and appreciate. This particular book seemed a little fragmented in that there is no consistent theme and some of the chapters seemed a little light on material. The Florida Book Convention chapter was charming, but offered little in clarifying book collecting or book buying or books in general. Still, the Goldman's books are an easy way to spend a weekend escaping into a world of leather bindings, cool dust jackets, and cover pages.

The book world is changing and in the afterword, the Goldstones make of point of showing that the first edition Harry Potter books are already bringing in thousands more than most of the great influential writers of the past 100 years. What does it mean? That's probably for the reader to decide. The Goldstones don't take and major stand on the issues, they're just there, like the rest of us, for the ride.

I always enjoy the Goldstones' book travelogues. Perfect for the beach or whenever you need a light and enjoybable read.

Authors Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone are also book collectors and, in "Warmly Inscribed," they share their experiences in the used, rare and antiquarian book world. The tales are charming and anecdotal, filled with their love of books, and come across very conversationally, as if you were chatting with them over coffee instead of reading their adventures in a book. Also, it makes that particular world seem less stuffy and very accessible to everyone.

Each chapter shares a small bit of the vast world of books and booklore, from the first chapter that deals with the immense colleciton of the Library of Congress (as well as their lovable eight-year-old daughter Emily and a missing teddy bear) to the true story of the New England forger Ken Anderson who created quite a to-do with the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America. Plus, they give much of the history of books, bookfairs, and even a glimpse into the life of writer Max Beerbohm.

This is a wonderful book to read, whether you're into book collecting or not.

I liked this book better than their first two. The somewhat precious plural narration is considerably more charming when it's not so constant, and their travels here are usefully varied. Most of all, this book is meatier, which really helps. The informative section about the New England forger adds a needed note of factual reportage. For me it anchors the rest of the book.

I knew the Washington book scene fairly well at one point, and their account is a mixed success. The section on the Library of Congress is nicely done, but they managed to miss the two best bookstores in town: Booked Up, which they knew about but somehow couldn't manage to get into (?), and Andy Moursund's Georgetown Books in Bethesda. Also, although it's true that more people should know about it, I feel their appraisal of the Folger is lame and tame--the Folger always struck me as a really odd museum, consistently barely interesting enough to warrant a visit yet almost ludicrously top-heavy with Shakespeare First Folios. In this day and age, is there any conceivable need to have 79 First Folios in one place? Any independent-minded curator, it seems to me, would divest two-thirds of them to fund a broadening of the collection and an enlivening of the exhibits. (It's also almost anti-conservationist to have all of them together, where they might all be destroyed at one fell swoop by a natural disaster or an act of terrorism. It would be much better for their safety to spread them around a bit.) I would have liked a more critical viewpoint here.

The Goldstones are not only savvier book people now, which is a relief (I found the "Duh, what's a nice book?" tone of "Used and Rare" too benighted), but they're getting to be better writers, too. The set-piece about Bearite is a hoot, and, despite her sparing appearances, Emily is strongly characterized as a sidekick--I really laughed at the vision of her sitting in the audience at sparsely attended book signings asking her parents how long it took them to write their book. I hope she figures more prominently in book #4. Next time, England? Archer? Get going, Goldstones!

This is the third installment of books on book collecting by the Goldstones, and they continue to captivate their readers with wonderful tales about the fascinating world of books!!! A must read for all bibliophiles!!!